I am trying to help out a buddy work up some loads for his 270 Win. He has been shooting 130 grain factory loads (Nosler BT @ 3000 FPS). The problem with this load is that they are overly destructive to the deer he has been taking. All of his shots this year have been at 125 yds and under. Two were at less the 50 yds.

My first inclination was to suggest that we increase his bullet weight to the 150's and drop the velocity down to something more like 2600-2700 FPS. My first pick for a bullet here is the Hornady 150 gr. Spire Point since these are readily available and I really don't think a premium bullet is required at this level. Plus the simliar Hornady 150 and 165 Spires do great in my 308.

My question, is which powder? I know H-4831 is supposed to be THE powder for the 270, but since we are planning to reduce these some I would feel more comfortable with a faster powder. I am thinking about the H-4895 and Varget I have on hand.

What do you folks think?

Thanks,
Mark in GA

Mark,

I agree with you on using a tougher and/or heavier bullet. Hornady interlocks and Remington core-lokts would get the nod in my book. You can get a bunch of Remington PSPCLs from www.midwayusa.com for very little cash.

Hogdon powder company's website has a reduced load section but I think that they use lighter bullets. I imagine this is for reduced recoil loads. I'd say that H4831 or H4350(or IMR 4831 and IMR 4350) would be fine. Just using a stouter bullet would make the difference you're looking for. Good luck.

Mark, I think you're on the right track but I wouldn't change powders if you're heading for 2,600 or so.

H-4831 in 53 grain lots will get your 150 grain .270 bullet to about 2650'/sec with no sweat.

Years ago I used the Barnes 170 grain round nose soft point and found it to work well on deer. Not sure they still make that bullet for the .270

Mark:
I'm aware this isn't the powder you mentioned but I couldn't get consistant accuracy with my .270 until I went to Rldr-22. I fought & fought using the 4831's & 4350's with no luck. My accurate load now is 56.0 gr.s of Rldr-22, Fed. Gm-210 primers and a 150 gr. Partition. I've found seating depth to be very important to accuracy and I seat the bullets 0.010" off the lands. I'm aware this is quite close for hunting situations but I always run the cartridges thru the rifle before taking them to the field. BTW, this load gives me 2885 fps Mv. and 1" groups in my Ruger. I'd agree, go to a heavier bullet. HTH.
Bear in Fairbanks

I have a friend that wanted some good 270 win loads for deer as well. I loaded the Hdy 150 SPILs on top of H4831 @ 2820 fps (You'll probably have to vary your charge to get that velocity but, it wasn't near a max load.). After trying them on the range, he called and told me they shot great. He called two more times after harvesting bucks this season just to tell me how much he loved those loads. Both of those bucks were taken at less than 40 yards w/ satisfactory bullet performance. One of the bucks (180-190 8pt) was hit dead in the shoulder at 35 yards and the bullet broke both shoulders and took out the heart and lungs. That might be a combo you should look at.

Good Luck!

Reloader

You may want to try a different bullet instead of downloading. I shot a small deer with a 130gr Barnes Triple shock and didn't loose a bite of meat. It basically drilled an 1" to 1 1/2" straight through the breadbox missing the shoulders. It left a nice exit wound but didn't leave a blood trail I could find.
I actually was slightly disappointed that the deer didn't jump up and land on it's back with 4 hooves in the air, but the bullet certainly killed it without much muss or fuss. I'll probably try and knock one down with a shoulder shot next time. But if you are wanting totally predictable performance, and not have explosive shrapnel damage the Triple Shock might be just what you're looking for. It's also extemely accurate in my Sako Finnlite.
The load I shoot is a 130gr TSX with 61.0grs of RL-22 -seated quite long for my Sako. This is a max load that might be too much for some rifles so back off and work up to it.
RL-22 has also shot extremely well with 140gr Accubonds in my Beretta Mato 270 Win and 130 SST's in my M-70 270 Win. I think that RL-22 is quickly becomming a powder of choice in the 270 Winchester (as well as many others). H-4831 is certainly the classical choice but I think you'll do yourself a favor trying RL-22, just as Reloader and some of our other posters also suggest........DJ

Your may wish to consider:

1) BT's can be destructive but shot placement is much more important. Tell your buddy not to shoot big meaty areas. Aim 1/3 the way up midway between the front legs at any angle and stay away from straight-on shoulder shots. If you put one in the boiler room and the boiler room only, most of the damage will be internal.

2) Others have suggested using heavier bullets and yes, these heavier bullets will not expand as quickly and will penetrate more. This thought process is actually pushing you more toward premium bullets (which you said no to). Rather than download, tell you buddy to buy heavier weight PP's or PSPCL's and concentrate on shot placement.

3) If you do download, you may not want to go with a faster powder. Downloading means you use less powder. Faster powders mean less powder to reach the same pressure level. You may wish to use a slower powder like H-4831 or RL-22 at reduced levels to keep the level of powder in your brass at a reasonable level. Small amounts of powder in large cases can cause problems.

The most accurate load in my M70 Featherweight:

-Win Brass

-Hornady 150 gr SP

-56.0 gr H4831

-Fed 210 primer



Not a prairie scorcher, but accurate in my gun. Not a max load (in my rifle) but as a safety precaution, drop 2-3 grains and work up. Should get around 2800-2850 fps, your mileage may vary.